EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Immigration officials say they arrested an alleged sex offender after he barricaded himself inside a home in Vado, New Mexico.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents learned the whereabouts of Jesus Luis Cuevas Pacheco, 47, following a disturbance in the small southern New Mexico town. It involved alleged threats to family members and the alleged sale of narcotics, ICE said in a statement.
ICE agents on Sept. 27 attempted to serve a warrant on Cuevas for illegal reentry into the United States after deportation and met resistance.
The suspect allegedly fled from agents in a vehicle, then on foot, before barricading himself inside a home in Vado, ICE said. Agents made several attempts to persuade him to come out but he refused; the agents breached the front door and apprehended him, the agency reported.
Cuevas, a citizen of Mexico, has an extensive criminal record in the U.S. It began with a conviction in 2002 for importation, conspiracy to sell or distribute marijuana for which he served 12 months and one day in prison, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
He was back in Mexico after release but reentered the U.S. in 2003. He was apprehended in Dallas and removed from the country at Laredo, Texas. ICE officials say his criminal record includes multiple arrests for alleged criminal penetration of a child, battery and drug possession.
He now faces charges of illegal reentry after deportation. If convicted, he faces prison time and removal from the U.S.
Court records show he has an Oct. 2 hearing before Chief U.S. Magistrate Gregory B. Wormuth in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The court appointed a public defender for him on Monday.
“The arrest of this criminal alien sends a strong message: HSI will not tolerate those who prey on the vulnerable and jeopardize the safety of our communities,” said HSI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens. “HSI’s mission is clear: to protect the innocent, uphold the law, and remove dangerous individuals from our streets This fugitive’s history of violent crimes and his attempt to evade arrest demonstrate the critical need for our work.”
